On 25 September, the Renew Europe Group in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) together with LYMEC – European Liberal Youth and YDE – Young Democrats for Europe hosted the 2025 edition of the YELL Summit in Brussels, gathering young elected local leaders from across Europe to address one of the most urgent challenges facing this generation: the housing crisis.
The summit opened with remarks from Mayor of Ennis, Ireland Clare Colleran Molloy, who highlighted the scale of the crisis. In many regions, housing demand continues to far exceed supply, with prices soaring. In Ireland, for example, she stated that housing costs have risen by more than 50% in the past five years, while rents have increased by over 100% since 2010. She also emphasised that housing has become the number one political issue in her country, something that was echoed by many participants from other Member States.
Throughout the day, young leaders shared insights from their municipalities, illustrating both the housing challenges and the innovative solutions being tried at the local level. From infrastructure and regulatory barriers in large cities to the paradox of vacant housing in rural areas, participants described how, in various ways, the housing crisis across Europe is pushing young people away from homeownership and even affordable rental options.
Yet, they also showcased new approaches to solving the problem – such as state renovation of unused public housing, cooperative housing schemes and EU-supported funding mechanisms, which are offer hope and concrete ways forward. These exchanges made it clear that while the contexts differ, the struggle for housing is a shared European challenge, not least because it also impacts labour mobility and functioning of the single market. Therefore, housing requires joint solutions that often start at the local level.
The summit concluded with Vlad Voiculescu MEP (USR, RO), who gave his perspective as a member of the European Parliament during the session “A Home of Your Own: Reclaiming the Future for Europe’s Youth.” The exchange highlighted the urgency of the housing crisis, but also the determination of young local leaders to act. As the voice of liberal and democrat subnational leaders in the EU, Renew Europe CoR aims to amplify these voices and champion innovative, local solutions at the European level, ensuring that the fight for affordable housing remains a priority on Europe’s political agenda.
Photo: Renew Europe CoR